Dallas Bragg, a chemsex recovery coach, breaks down why gay men relapse into meth use: either to escape painful emotions like loneliness and heartbreak, or to amplify good feelings like job promotions and sober sex. Knowing which one drives you is the first step to building safeguards against future use.
In my experience coaching gay men who want to stop using meth, I've seen that they fall into these 2 categories. Hi, my name is Dallas. I am a chemsex recovery coach. Men turn back to meth either out of negative or positive reinforcement. Negative reinforcement is when you are using meth to escape some negative emotion like loneliness, boredom, heartbreak, Self-hatred, or emotional stress. Positive reinforcement is when you turn to meth when you feel really good— job promotion, a sobriety milestone, sober sex, pornography, getting drunk— and you want to take the high higher. Understanding the why behind your behavior is an important first step to installing the proper safeguards to ensure that you cannot turn to meth. Even if you wanted to during these times of reinforcement. So which are you? Tell me in the comments.
